Following its successful premiere, EUROGUSS ASIA PACIFIC goes into its second round as part of the Metal AP metal industry exhibition from 12-14 December 2019 at BITEC (Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center) in Bangkok, Thailand. At EUROGUSS ASIA PACIFIC, industry experts and local partners will present trends, innovations and information on developments in the Thai foundry market.

“Thailand is the biggest automobile producer in South-East Asia and employs some 850,000 people. This also makes it the strongest automobile cluster in the ASEAN region (Association of South-East Asian Nations),” explains Christopher Boss, Director and International Product Manager of EUROGUSS. “A lot of major automobile and machine manufacturers have subsidiaries in the Bangkok metropolitan area in particular, making Thailand the ideal venue for discussing die casting issues,” Boss continues.

EUROGUSS ASIA PACIFIC Conference The EUROGUSS ASIA PACIFIC Conference will take place on 12 December 2019 as part of Metal AP. Through its programme of presentations, NürnbergMesse is offering participants the ideal platform to showcase the capabilities of their companies and establish and nurture contacts in the ASEAN economic region. “We want to give our customers the best possible support in getting to know this exciting market and gaining a foothold in it,” says Christopher Boss. Various speakers will present current trends and developments in the die casting sector to the audience of industry professionals.

In their lectures, the experts will present solutions to trending issues like structural components and battery housings for the automotive industry and components for 5G technology. What’s special about the conference is that it covers the entire supply chain, from simulation to die casting machines and from dies and the associated spraying technology to machining. The presentations will be rounded off by a discussion of current developments on the Thai market. In this context it is worth mentioning the ambitious EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor) project. This is a government strategy to build infrastructure and develop progressive industries, like the automobile industry, which is one of the most important customers for die-cast components in Thailand as in other countries.

EUROGUSS ASIA PACIFIC is supported by the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce and the OAV (German Asia-Pacific Business Association).

Metal AP – Asia-Pacific Metal Industry Exhibition Metal AP presents the entire supply chain for the metalworking and casting industry. It is subdivided into four thematic clusters: die casting, foundry technology, industrial furnaces and heat treatment, and metallurgy. Alongside EUROGUSS ASIA PACIFIC there are other events taking place at the same venue. The Auto-Tech Day is a seminar focusing on technology and the use of die casting and is also designed to bring together technicians, engineers, managers and experts. At the event, the winning entries from the die casting competition organised by the Chinese die casting fair CHINA DIECASTING 2019 will be presented and exhibited. The organiser of Metal AP is the Foundry Productivity Promotion Center of China (FPC), which also hosts CHINA DIECASTING in Shanghai. The foundry exhibition is also supported by NürnbergMesse China and other foundry associations.

Thailand and the entire ASEAN market are undergoing rapid development South-East Asia, and the member countries of the ASEAN Economic Community in particular, are regarded as regions with extremely strong growth. In 2018 the combined ASEAN GDP was about USD 3 trillion, a figure that is set to increase. Economic growth of more than five percent a year is forecast to last until at least 2022. The ASEAN nations combined could become the world’s fifth-largest economy. Already, the region is the world’s fourth largest investment location and offers a good investment environment. Last year, ASEAN nations recorded foreign direct investments of around USD 149 billion, putting them ahead of China. Investment in R&D is also steadily increasing. Many automotive suppliers operate R&D centres, for example. In addition, Thailand’s first automotive testing centre will open in the Bangkok metropolitan area at the start of 2020. One of the stakeholders is German testing services agency TÜV SÜD, which is involved in establishing a battery testing centre. German car manufacturer BMW also has a manufacturing facility in Rayong in the east of Thailand that produces 13 different models of BMW cars and motorbikes for export to various ASEAN markets.

Strong and expanding automobile industry in Thailand Thailand has a strong automotive industry and for a long time now has been the most important manufacturer of cars among the ASEAN countries, producing around two million units last year, equivalent to a year-on-year growth of about eight percent. That accounts for around ten percent of the country’s GDP. To promote and stabilise growth, the Thai BOI (Board of Investments) established the Eco Cars incentive programme as part of the Thailand 4.0 development strategy. The scheme is designed to encourage the production of small, low-emission cars with low fuel consumption. The programme entered its second phase in 2013 and offers significant tax incentives to manufacturers of environmentally friendly vehicles like electric and hybrid cars. Honda, for example, is planning to relocate production of its Accord hybrid sedan to Thailand in 2021. This makes Thailand a fast-growing future market for the automobile sector and consequently, for the die casting industry as well.